Iran is playing with fire in Syria

The first red line, he said, was turning Syrian into a "forward" military base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, including intelligence, naval and air-force bases.

An Israeli war against Iran would mean horror for ordinary people across the Middle East-and could easily spread well outside of Syria's borders.

The Egyptian military campaign comes ahead of a presidential election in March, in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seeking a second term in office. Everyone is picking a side, while Turkey and the Assad regime, the regime and the U.S., the U.S. and Turkey, Russia and the U.S., Turkey and Iran, Israel and Iran are pointing their guns at one and other.

Furthermore, it would appear that President Assad is not going to be removed from power anytime soon. Again, "Why does the media feel obliged to present the Israeli aggression as being Iran's fault?"

The FDD is an annex of the Israeli lobby and a charter member of the War Party. Last week's deadly attack carried out by Iranian backed militias on Turkish troops deep inside Syria cast doubt on the survival of the de-escalation agreement.

Our orders have been cut.

The statement said it was "a lie and misleading" to say the drone had entered Israel's airspace.

If Tehran did, it would be an act of monumental stupidity.

The second red line, he said, was that Syria would enable Iran to upgrade Hezbollah's missile capabilities by turning those missiles into precision weapons that would constitute a much greater threat to Israel than they now are.

"During the operation, Syria responded by launching a wave of surface-to-air missiles, which managed to shoot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet", CBN News recounted.

The US has said it would "defend" its forces in Syria from attack. It was the second attack in a week on Turkish soldiers trying to establish a position near the front line between rebels and pro-government forces, under a deal with Russian Federation and Iran meant to reduce fighting in the area. Putin may look to quell the situation himself rather than have the US get more heavily involved in a region that, in recent years, Russia, along with Iran, has tended to dominate.

What this signals is that, though ISIS has been all but evicted from Syria, the USA intends to retain that fourth of Syria as a bargaining chip in negotiations. There are the forces loyal to Bashar Assad, militants controlled by Iran including those from Hezbollah, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) supported by Turkey, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which includes the US -backed People's Protection Units (YPG), Daesh - which nobody knows who is behind - and the Nusra Front, which benefits from the support of various players who change frequently.

The U.S. and Turkey, allies for six decades, with the largest armies in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, may soon be staring down each other's gun barrels. And we have a strategic interest in not losing Turkey as an ally. Israel's latest military action has the potential to accelerate the events. What would victory look like?

In a tit-for-tat reaction, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi described as "ridiculous" reports that Israel had intercepted and targeted an Iranian droneon Saturday.

Israel will be spinning its wheels if it tries to thwart Iran's plans on its own.

What outcome would justify another USA war in a region where all the previous wars in this century have left us bleeding, bankrupt, divided and disillusioned?